Apparatus for packaging and handling stacks of handles

ABSTRACT

The apparatus disclosed is directed to packaging and handling of a plurality of strips of plastic handles which are to be separated from the strips and attached to gabled top cartons such as milk cartons or the like. The strips of handles are stacked one on top of the other in a quantity so as to constitute a complete load for a handle receiving magazine of a handle attaching machine. A complete load may consist of 500 discrete handles, this being 25 strips of handles with 20 handles on each strip. The strips are arranged in a stack and the entire stack is positioned in a container, such as a cardboard carton or the like, with a T-bar support member positioned through the stack of handles. The entire stack of handles is removed from the container by grasping the upstanding extended portion of the Tbar support member and raising the stack from the container. The entire stack is then turned over and inserted into the handle receiving magazine and the T-bar is removed.

United States Patent m1 Hidding 51 Apr. 10, 1973 APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING AND HANDLING STACKS OF HANDLES [76] Inventor: Walter E. Hidding, 505 Banbury Road, Arlington Heights, 111. 60005 22 Filed: Feb. 1,1972

21 Appl.No.: 222,474

52' US. Cl ..206/65 K, 206/65 R, 206/65 AB, 206/DIG. 32 51 int. Cl ..B65d 77/30, B65d 69/00 58 Field of Search ..206/65 K, 56 R, 56 AB, 206/DIG. 32

[5 6] 7 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,487,107 I 11/1949 D'Andrca ..206/D1G. 32 3,170,160 2/1965 Burniston 3,285,404 11/1966 Spinney ..206/56 AB Primary ExaminerLeonard Summer Attorney-Roy 1-1. Olson et al.

[57] ABSTRACT The apparatus disclosed is directed to packaging and handling of a plurality of strips of plastic handles which are to be separated from the strips and attached to gabled top cartons such as milk cartons or the like. The strips of handles are stacked one on top of the other in a quantity so as to constitute a complete load for a handle receiving magazine of a handle attachingmachine. A complete load may consist of 500 di'screte' handles, this being 25 strips of handles with 20 han-,.

dles on each strip. The strips are arranged in a stack and the entire stack is positioned in a container, such I as a cardboard carton or the like, with a T-ba'r support member positioned through the stack of handles. The entire stack of handles is removed from the container by grasping the upstanding extended portion of the T bar support member and raising the stack from the container. The entire stack is then turned over and inserted into the handle receiving magazine and the T- bar is removed.

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING AND HANDLING STACKS OF HANDLES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to apparatus for packaging and handling strips of handles for handle attaching machines or the like. More particularly, this invention is directed to a combination of packaging and stacking of plastic handles which constitute a single 1 load for a handle receiving magazine.

Heretofore, handle attaching machines have been provided in the milk industry, as well as other industries, whereby pivotal handles are fastened to the upstanding ridge of a gabled top milk carton. While milk cartons are of particular interest herein, it will be understood that such gabled top cartons can contain soap powder or other chemical materials.

The prior art machines for attaching such handles generally include a hopper which receives a plurality of individual handles, each separated from the other, and the hopper shakes and orients the handles by a vibrating mechanism to ultimately orient the handle in its proper position to be fastened to the carton.

An improvement over this type of handle attaching machine is one which incorporates a magazine to receive a plurality of strips of handles in the magazine for continuous feeding of the handles into the handle attaching mechanism. However, in loading the magazine, handles are generally received in a carton and picked out in bunches of irregular quantities and inserted into the machine by an operator. By doing this the operator never knows exactly how many handles are in any given bunch and therefore cannot tell how long the handles will last in the magazine before another bunch will be needed. While a maximum capacity of the magazine may be well in excess of what an operator can generally handle in a single bunch, operators, for one reason or another, may not fill the magazine to its maximum capacity. Therefore, it is desired to provide a packaging and handling arrangement whereby a single bunch or load of handles can be inserted into the magazine with repeated accuracy of the number of handles in the load so that the time between loadings can be relatively fixed. This will allow an operator to handle several machines by timing his movements between machines to correspond to the time of how long it takes the machine to use a complete load of handles from the magazine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION when the handles are inserted into the magazine.

Another object of this invention is to provide means for stacking strips of handles with a predetermined number of handles in the stack so that they can be removed from their shipping container in a single operation and inserted into a magazine of a handle attaching machine.

Another object of this invention is to provide disposable means which is inserted through the stack of handles in a given container so that the entire stack can be removed from the container and thereafter the means can be discarded.

Many other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be more fully realized and understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein 0 like reference numerals throughout the various views of the drawings are intended to designated similar elements or components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a stack of handles positioned in their shipping container and further showing a gripping portion of removing means extending from the stack toward the openable end of the container;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the hand of the user raising an entire stack of handles from the container in a single maneuver;

FIG. 3 shows the stack of handles being in an inverted position and in alignment with a magazine to receive the handles;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a T-bar support member which serves as the removing means for the stack of handles and which is readily disposable;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a general handle receiving magazine unit for receiving stacked handles in accordance with this invention, the magazine being the input of a handle attaching machine which fastens the handles, one at a time, to gabled top cartons or the like;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary end view showing spaced guide and support members of the handle receiving magazine for receiving aligned protuberances of the stack of handles; and

FIG. 7 is a top view taken along section line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1 there is seen a plurality of strips of handles designated generally by reference numeral 10, these strips forming a single stack 11 which is positioned in a shipping container 12. The container 12 has an openable end 14 thereof to allow access to the stack II for removing the handles. In accordance with this invention, the entire stack ill of handles is removed in a single maneuver by the use of removing means 16 which has a hand gripping portion 16a thereof extending upwardly toward the openable end 14 and allows the operator to grasp the portion 16a and pull upwardly relative to the container 12 to remove the stack of handles.

This is best illustrated in FIG. 2 which shows an operator's hand, designated generally by reference numeral 17, pulling upwardly, indicated by the arrow, and the entire stack 11 being removed from the container 12. The number of strips of handles in the stack 11 is determined by, among other things, ease of handling and the size of the handle receiving magazine into meral 20. The magazine unit may be part of a handle attaching machine, the details of which are not disclosed herein and form no part of this invention, but which may correspond substantially to the handle attaching machine disclosed in application Ser. No. 222,599 filed on Feb. 1, 1972 of which applicant is coinventor.

Each of the handles of the strip is designated generally by reference numeral 21 and is formed of a hand gripping portion 21a and two bendable side portions 21b and 21c. Each of the bendable side portions 21b and 21c have fastening means formed at their free ends and which are utilized to fasten the handle to a corresponding gabled top carton or the like. Preferably, the fastening means is formed of a stem portion 22 which passes through an aperture of the gabled top carton and also passes through an aperture 24 formed at the other free end of the handle. The stem portion 22 is then deformed or otherwise made fast so that it will not again pass through the aperture 24 and thus remain fastened to the carton,

Preferably, the endmost handles of each strip of handles have protuberances 26 formed thereat so that each protuberance is in alignment above the next, as illustrated in FIG. 5. The protuberances 26 are then positioned between upstanding guide post pairs 28 and 29 on each side of the magazine unit and serve to support and align the entire stack of handles during the operation of the machine. Suitable sensing means may be provided to sense the level of handles as the stack diminishes during application of the handles to passing cartons, the sensing means then giving the operator a warning signal that another complete load or stack of handles is to be inserted into the magazine. This alignment of the protuberances 26 together with the removing unit 16 allows an operator to remove the entire stack of handles 11 from the container 12 in a single manipulation, inverting the stack and readily aligning the protuberances with the upstanding guides for insertion into the magazine.

FIGS. 6 and 7 more clearly show the alignment of the protuberances 26 positioned betweenthe guide rails 28. While this type of alignment arrangement is illustrated, it will be understood that other means may be provided to align the entire stack of handles in the magazine unit in a single manipulation. Also shown in FIG. 7 are severable tabs 30 which connect correspondingly shaped protuberances between adjacent ones of the handles 21, these tabs being readily severable by manipulation of the handle attaching machine so that each handle individually can be separated from its corresponding strip just prior or during application of the handle to a corresponding carton.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the details of construction of the removing means 16 is here illustrated. Preferably it takes the form of a -T-shaped unit having the ex-- tended portion thereof forming the hand gripping por- While only a single specific embodiment of this invention is illustrated herein, it will be understood that variations and modifications of this invention may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts disclosed and claimed herein.

The invention is claimed as follows:

1. Apparatus for providing a plurality of plastic handles to be inserted into a handle attaching machine for application to cartons passing therethrough, comprising in combination, a plurality of strips of handles, each strip having the handles thereof connected by severable tabs so that each handle can be removed from the strip for application to a carton, a least one opening formed between adjacent handles of each strip of handles and intermediate the ends of the strips, a container for receiving said plurality of strips of handles, one strip being stacked upon another within said container, and the stack extending toward an openable end of said container, and removing means having one portion extending through the openings of each strip of handles in the stack and another portion extending beyond the stack to be gripped, whereby an operator can grasp said other portion of said removing means and remove the entire stack of handles from said carton and insert the stack into a handle receiving magazine of a handle attaching machine by a single maneuver.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each of the bandles of said strip of handles is formed of a hand gripping portion and bendable side portions at each end thereof and extending outwardly, and including fastening means at the free ends of each bendable side portions to be fastened together through a portion of the carton to which it is connected.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said fastening means is formed of a deformable stem located at one free end of one bendable side portion and an aperture to receive the deformable stem therethrough at the other free end of the other bendable side portion.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said plurality of strips of handles is positioned in said container with the hand gripping portion thereof directed away from said openable end and wherein said other portion of said removing means is positioned immediately adjacent said openable end for removing the stack of handles from the container.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said openable end of said container is the upper end thereof and said hand gripping portion of said handles are positioned to be directed toward the bottom of said container.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said removing means includes a T-shaped unit having the extended portion thereof passing through the openings formed in the strips of handles with the crossbar portion thereof cradled underneath the lowermost strip of handles to provide a support for the entire stack upon raising the T-bar from the container.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each end of each strip of handles in the stack has a protuberance formed thereon, said protuberance on each strip being in alignment with the protuberance on each other strip of the stack and wherein the entire stack of handles is arranged for positioning in a magazine for receiving the same by inserting the protuberances of the strips of handles in guide channels so that the entire stack is held in-alignment in the magazine.

thereon, said protuberance on each strip being in alignment with the protuberance on each other strip of the stack and wherein the entire stack of handles is arranged for positioning in a magazine for receiving the same by inserting the protuberances of the strips of handles in guide channels so that the entire stack is held in alignment in'the magazine. 

1. Apparatus for providing a plurality of plastic handles to be inserted into a handle attaching machine for application to cartons passing therethrough, comprising in combination, a plurality of strips of handles, each strip having the handles thereof connected by severable tabs so that each handle can be removed from the strip for application to a carton, a least one opening formed between adjacent handles of each strip of handles and intermediate the ends of the strips, a container for receiving said plurality of strips of handles, one strip being stacked uPon another within said container, and the stack extending toward an openable end of said container, and removing means having one portion extending through the openings of each strip of handles in the stack and another portion extending beyond the stack to be gripped, whereby an operator can grasp said other portion of said removing means and remove the entire stack of handles from said carton and insert the stack into a handle receiving magazine of a handle attaching machine by a single maneuver.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each of the handles of said strip of handles is formed of a hand gripping portion and bendable side portions at each end thereof and extending outwardly, and including fastening means at the free ends of each bendable side portions to be fastened together through a portion of the carton to which it is connected.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said fastening means is formed of a deformable stem located at one free end of one bendable side portion and an aperture to receive the deformable stem therethrough at the other free end of the other bendable side portion.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said plurality of strips of handles is positioned in said container with the hand gripping portion thereof directed away from said openable end and wherein said other portion of said removing means is positioned immediately adjacent said openable end for removing the stack of handles from the container.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said openable end of said container is the upper end thereof and said hand gripping portion of said handles are positioned to be directed toward the bottom of said container.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said removing means includes a T-shaped unit having the extended portion thereof passing through the openings formed in the strips of handles with the crossbar portion thereof cradled underneath the lowermost strip of handles to provide a support for the entire stack upon raising the T-bar from the container.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each end of each strip of handles in the stack has a protuberance formed thereon, said protuberance on each strip being in alignment with the protuberance on each other strip of the stack and wherein the entire stack of handles is arranged for positioning in a magazine for receiving the same by inserting the protuberances of the strips of handles in guide channels so that the entire stack is held in alignment in the magazine.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said removing means includes a T-shaped unit having the extended portion thereof passing through the openings formed in the strips of handles with the crossbar portion thereof cradled underneath the lowermost strip of handles to provide a support for the entire stack upon raising the T-bar from the container, and each end of each strip of handles in the stack has a protuberance formed thereon, said protuberance on each strip being in alignment with the protuberance on each other strip of the stack and wherein the entire stack of handles is arranged for positioning in a magazine for receiving the same by inserting the protuberances of the strips of handles in guide channels so that the entire stack is held in alignment in the magazine. 